Jewelry clasp



April 26, 1966 P. A. SPERANZA ETAL 3,247,560

JEWELRY CLASP Original Filed March 51, 1960 FlG.l

PRIOR ART FIG.3A'

FIG.3

INVENTORS. Peter A.Spero nzu 8 Mildred Bmun, fldmm W W/AQM ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,247,561) JEWELRY CLAS? Peter A. Speranza, North iiellmore, N.Y., and Gabriel Brash, deceased, late of Forest Hills, N.Y., assignors to The Richelieu Corp a corporation of New York Original application Mar. 31, 196%, Ser. No. 18,936, new Patent No. 3,120,942, dated Feb. 4, 1964 Divided and this application Jan. 27, 1964, Ser. No. 354,189

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-116) This application is a division of application Serial No. 18,936 filed March 31, 1960 now Patent No. 3,120,042 which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 2,958 filed January 18, 1960, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a jewelry clasp element especially useful for holding the ends of two or more strands of beads or pearls.

The ends of the strands of plural-strand necklaces made up of beads, pearls and similar decorative objects are ordinarily attached to the clasp elements by means of a short chain or a link which is afiixed to the clasp element. For example, the string, wire or monofilament on which the pearls or beads are strung may have a metal hook aifixed at each end and this hook is clamped onto one of the links which is afiixed to the clamp element. In this structure, (1) the end of the string or wire on which the beads are strung is visible in the hook means, (2) the hook and link attachment to the clasp element are conspicuously different from the beads on the string and (3) the skilled labor required to fix the ends of the strings to the clasp element is substantial. This loose structured attachment also allows tangling of the strands especially when there are three or more strands.

Among the objects of the present invention is to provide a clasp element to which the ends of strings containing pearls or beads can be directly attached thereby providing an improved appearance with no string ends showing and a tighter attachment which is resistant to t-angling, etc.

Among other objects of the invention is to provide a clasp element which can be more quickly attached to an end of one or more strings of pearls or beads which it is to hold.

The term string in the specification and claims is used in its broad sense as a means for holding beads and pearls and includes threads, fibrous strings, multifilament strings and wires and monofilaments of nylon, rayon, Dacron, wire, etc.

These objects are obtained by providing a metal clasp element with two or more interfitting parts connected together at one edge. A first part contains openings large enough to admit the strings and small enough to prevent passage of the knotted or otherwise enlarged string therethrough so that the end portion of the string can be inserted in the hole and held there by a knot at the end. The second part of the clasp extends at an angle with respect to the first part viewed along the common edge. One of the parts contains the eyelet or means for attaching a hook or a male or a female part of a two part clasp. At least one of the two sides which face each other is chamfered adjacent the orifices of the first part to accommodate the knots of the strings.

The parts of the clasp elements of the invention may be made of metal or plastic or any similar material which can be molded or shaped and later folded together and held by its resilient or similar properties in closed position.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional type of clasp element on which the present invention is an improvement.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the improved type of clasp element in use.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of another form of the invention.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the assembled element of FIG. 3.

The clasp elements usually provided for plural strand necklaces are illustrated in FIG. 1 and comprise the bar Iii on which is integrally formed the similar eyelets 11 for holding the hooks 12 and the eyelet 13 for holding a fastener hook 14 or (at the opposite end of the necklace) a chain containing spaced pearls (not shown) which will catch on hook 14. The hook elements 12 comprise a cup or disk shaped base 15 with a hole in the center through which the end of the string of the bead or pea-r1 strand is passed and knotted. The knots and or ends of the string 16 are not completely hidden by the cup or disk element 15 and are clearly visible from at least one side with respect to the element 10.

FIG. 2 shows how a clasp device of the present invention looks when assembled together with strands of beads or pearls 18 held on strings 16 are held close to the lower side or plate 21 of the element 20 and no strings or links show between the beads 18 and the clasp element 20.

FIGS. 3 and 3A show another clamp means 60 having a triangular cross-sectional shape. The cross-sectional view of FIG. 3A is on a slightly enlarged scale. In this modification a first triangular side 61 contains the male part 62 of a male and female type of fastener. In fact, any type of a two part fastener may be employed with the clasp element of the invention. In FIGS. 3 and 3A the male fastener element 62 is soldered or welded to side 61 at 63. The second side 64 of triangular clasp 60 contains slots 65 for receiving the strings 16. The third side 66 is shorter than the side of the finished triangular bar as side 66, in closing, fits inside the side 64 and shortens the effective length of slots 65 as well as closing these slots.

The features. and principles underlying the invention described above in connection with specific exemplifications will suggest to those skilled in the art many other modifications thereof. It is accordingly desired that the appended claim shall not be limited to any specific feature or details thereof.

We claim:

A clasp element for plural strand jewelry articles, comprising a gapped housing having a triangular cross sectional shape, said housing comprising an upper, substantially fiat side containing means for holding one part of a two part fastener, a second side, means connecting one longitudinal edge of the second side to a first side edge of the upperside, the opposite edge of said second side containing openings for receiving the ends of strings of the jewelry strands, a third side, means connecting one longitudinal edge of the third side to the second side edge of the upper side, said third side extending toward said second side with a gap therebetween whereby said gap may be closed to form a triangle to conceal the inside of the openings in said second side.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,646,999 10/ l 927 Goodridge. 2,644,992 6/1953 McFarland. 3,054,157 9/1962 Evans.

FOREIGN PATENTS 6,024 9/ 1956 Germany.

WILLIAM FELDMAN, Primary Examiner.

BOBBY R. GAY, Assistant Examiner. 

